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 Steffi stopped Graf suffers stunning Wimbledon loss to Zvereva
Posted: Friday June 26, 1998 01:37 PM
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Steffi Graf's bid for an eighth Wimbledon title ended Friday with a stunning defeat to Natasha Zvereva, a player Graf had beaten 17 straight times. Zvereva, a doubles specialist who had won only three sets against Graf in all their previous meetings, beat the fourth-seeded German 6-4, 7-5 in a third-round match. Graf, making her 13th appearance at Wimbledon, was competing in only her fifth tournament of the year because of knee and hamstring injuries. Her lack of match play showed as she struggled from the outset in the rain-delayed Centre Court match. Graf double faulted six times, had trouble returning serve and was kept off balance by Zvereva's change-of-pace shots. "For some reason I can't find the confidence playing out there when I know I've played so few tournaments," Graf said. "I haven't been very relaxed the last few days. "Every time I go on the court I start playing nervously in the beginning. Clearly it's a lack of matches. Every time it was important I didn't play the points well at all." It was only Graf's sixth singles defeat at Wimbledon since she made her first appearance in 1984 at age 15. She had lost only twice at Wimbledon since 1988. There has been speculation that this would be Graf's last Wimbledon. She said this week that she considered retirement two months ago after continued injury problems. She was non-committal today about whether she would return to Wimbledon next year. "That's another year right now," she said. "I definitely couldn't say right now. It would be nice to play again. Hopefully, I'd be different, in different shape and enjoy myself. But I've learned enough to take what's coming up next." Graf broke down in tears at a news conference Monday, saying she was overcome just to be back at Wimbledon again. She showed little emotion Wednesday, offering a quick wave with her left hand as she walked off Centre Court. Graf's 17-0 record against Zvereva had been one of the most one-sided in tennis. Their first match was the most memorable, when Graf humiliated Zvereva 6-0, 6-0 in just over 30 minutes in the 1988 French Open final. Shattered by that defeat, Zvereva never has reached a Grand Slam singles final since then, although she has excelled in doubles. But today, Zvereva thoroughly outplayed Graf. She broke serve in the first game, saved the only break point of the set against her in the next game and never let Graf get into a groove. The two stayed on serve in the second set until the 11th game when Zvereva got the decisive break for a 6-5 lead.
With Zvereva serving for the match, Graf failed to convert two break points at 15-40 and the match ended with a backhand return into the net. Showers delayed the start of Friday's play by 3 hours, 50 minutes, and there was the threat of more rain later in the afternoon and in the next few days. Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport were among the women scheduled to play third-round matches Friday. On the men's side, defending champion Pete Sampras faced a potentially tricky third-round match against Sweden's Thomas Enqvist. Venus Williams, meanwhile, is gearing up for a Wimbledon showdown against the "juggernaut" -- her best friend and kid sister, Serena. The Williams sisters beat their second-round opponents in straight sets Thursday -- each conceding only three games -- and are on course for a high-powered meeting in the fourth round. Venus downed Barbara Schett 6-1, 6-2, a victory that featured the fastest serve ever recorded in women's tennis -- 125 mph. Serena defeated fellow 16-year-old Mirjana Lucic 6-3, 6-0. Venus watched the first set of her sister's match on Centre Court, then walked over to Court 1 to play her own. "Serena is definitely a juggernaut," Venus said. And how do you stop a juggernaut? "Just become a bigger one yourself," she said. "I guess you have to become the nemesis." Venus, who turned 18 last week and is the No. 6 seed, is playing in her second Wimbledon, while the unseeded Serena is appearing in her first. When the draw was made, it appeared unlikely the sisters would meet because Serena had Anna Kournikova looming as a second-round opponent. But Kournikova withdrew because of a thumb injury, clearing the path for an all-Williams match. There are only two remaining hurdles. Serena next plays Virginia Ruano-Pascual, while Venus faces Chanda Rubin or Tara Snyder. The sisters have met twice in tournament play, at this year's Australian Open and Italian Open. Venus won both times. The men's field has been decimated, with half of the 16 seeds eliminated in the first two rounds. The latest to go were Andre Agassi, the 1992 champion and No. 13 seed, and French Open champion Carlos Moya, No. 5. Previous losers were No. 2 Marcelo Rios, No. 4 Greg Rusedski, No. 7 Yevgeny Kafelnikov, No. 8 Cedric Pioline, No. 10 Alex Corretja and No. 15 Karol Kucera.
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